"Would you like to try it now?"
Gu Weijing thought for a moment.
At this moment, his mind was filled with all kinds of cute cats and dogs. It would be a pity if he didn't draw something to see the effect.
Gu Weijing found a piece of watercolor paper at hand, used a magnet to attach it to the cabinet on the side, and then picked up the soft charcoal stick.
Even though he does not lack professional zoological knowledge now.
Draw cats and dogs,
It's better to find a model too.
"model?"
Old Man Wu’s Wenwan Bracelet Shop should have a Chinese civet cat that is used to catch mice in the yard.
But that cat is a bit fierce and not easy to get close to.
Gu Weijing had been scratched by it before and went to get a vaccination.
never mind!
Just look for it online.
Gu Weijing opened YouTube and searched with the keyword "cute cat". He simply selected a video called "Animism" uploaded by the UP owner.
This is a Yunlu cat video with over 5 million views and tens of thousands of comments.
"The heat is so high, so be it."
Gu Weijing started playing.
A child in preschool appeared on the screen of the mobile phone, holding a black and white shorthair cat and playing with it.
Cats are not a particularly expensive breed.
But it is plump and has black and white mottled hair, like a small cow.
No joke, it's really cute!
Gu Weijing was so cute that he twitched his nose twice, and then he concentrated on carefully watching the short-haired cat playing with its little owner.
"It's really different!"
He was surprised to find that he could not only imagine how the bones and muscles hidden under the skin worked together behind each movement of the shorthair cat.
Gu Weijing can now clearly distinguish small emotional changes such as excitement, anxiety or impatience shown by short-haired cats through the other person's body posture.
"The name Pet Mind Reading is not just a gimmick."
Same as station B,
There are also timestamps left by various netizens in the comment area of YouTube to mark the best moments in the video in their opinion.
Gu Weijing scrolled through the comment area and selected the coordinate point left by a brother at 2:06 seconds in the video.
His accompanying comment was "Unbelievable! She's just so cute!"
There are still 603 replies in this comment area.
There are responses from all over the world, from all regions and in all languages. Gu Weijing couldn't understand some of the comments at all.
But that's okay.
After turning two pages, you will know that the overall meaning of these six hundred replies can be accurately summarized in four words - "Awei is dead."
Gu Weijing locked the progress bar at these few seconds and watched it repeatedly.
In the video, the short-haired cat picked up a small ball of catnip with the tip of its nose, and happily rolled it on the sideboard, all the way from the sideboard to the floor tiles.
No wonder the girly hearts of netizens can’t stand it.
Very cute indeed!
Gu Weijing played the video at a slow speed so that the screen of his mobile phone stopped at the frame where the cat was rolling in mid-air.
He tilted his head and held the charcoal between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.
Gu Weijing hung his wrist in the air and tried to draw the outline of the cat's posture at this moment on the watercolor paper.
When Mao Miao rolled, all the muscles and bones in his body were twisting like noodles, like a large piece of elastic gluten.
It is also difficult for mobile phone cameras to record such high-speed falling postures.
Various afterimages are blurred together, and I can only barely make out a general picture.
For Gu Weijing now, this is enough.
He knew Mao Mi's athletic body very well in his mind.
Gu Weijing knows that a simple roll to the ground can be broken down into five complete steps in terms of body muscle and bone movement in the professional field of biology.
Physical preparation, twisting motion, throwing motion, weight shift and land landing.
Gu Weijing used charcoal pencil to draw a twisting curve with wonderful elasticity on the absorbent surface of the paper.
This is the state of the British Shorthair cat's fur spine in this frame on the mobile phone screen.
The cat squinted in mid-air, its posture was somewhere between shifting its center of gravity and landing on land.
It is pushing the body to roll to one side through the twisting of the spine and limbs, using the body's flexibility and coordination to control balancing movements.
"The neck muscles of the cat are highly developed, and the head and body rotate in coordination when rolling. The rectus abdominis muscles contract into a ball shape. Short-haired cats have specialized spinal rotary muscles to twist the body, and the tail is an important auxiliary organ for balance..."
If a professional veterinarian was listening to him talking to himself, he would surely marvel at this young man's surprisingly accurate understanding of Cat Mi's body.
Gu Weijing mentally divided the bobtail cat's movement of less than 0.1 seconds into countless muscle details.
Gu Weijing did not draw every detail of Mao Mi's muscles, fur and texture. He had this knowledge reserve, but it was unnecessary to practice drawing so accurately.
Mainly the look.
"Swipe, swipe, swipe..."
He used a few strokes on watercolor paper and used simple lines to capture the physical relationship of Mao Mi's entire body on the paper.
The painting method is not complicated.
The massive information in the knowledge cards has given these lines a natural soul.
The black-and-white simple drawing composed only of charcoal lines that he drew in less than a minute was much more vivid than the colored pencil illustration portrait he had worked so hard to draw before.
Mr. Cao said that the three elements of an excellent work are knowledge, skill and emotion.
With his stronger sketching skills and knowledge of zoology complementing each other, the sketch illustrations of the two cats before and after him immediately underwent earth-shaking changes.
on watercolor paper,
The little cow cat is like a liquid without bones, rolling dexterously in the air with its teeth and claws. The essence is perfectly expressed by these lines.
Gu Weijing put down his brush and took a few steps back.
He looked at the phone screen and then at the watercolor paper taped to the painting cabinet.
Gu Weijing felt that his heart was melting with such cuteness!
"Huh?"
At this time, Mr. Gu Tongxiang opened the door of the small studio and stepped in.
He wanted to say something else, but glanced at his grandson's charcoal drawing casually, and then couldn't help but glance at it several times.
The old man is the kind of person who has never had any love for small animals.
I am an old man who came from the war-torn times. When I was a child, people didn’t have enough to eat. How can I have any extra love to share with cats and dogs?
In addition, Gu Tongxiang is allergic to pet hair, which can easily cause rhinitis.
Like his grandson, when Gu Tongxiang went to Old Man Wu's place to play chess, he wanted to grab someone's tail with his clumsy hands, but the bad-tempered civet cat like a little tiger in Old Man Wu's yard jumped up and slapped him in the face with his paw.
From then on, he completely lost his affection for pets.
When walking on the street, if you encounter a stray dog, it will be considered a good thing if you don't kick it.
For someone like Mr. Gu who has no feelings for companion pets, it is rare for him to find the simple drawings drawn by his grandson on the wall so cute.
Gu Tongxiang is interested in painting horses, but he has never painted other cats and dogs, and he doesn’t know much about them.
He just instinctively felt that the simple drawings of his grandson Gu Weijing had completely attracted his interest.
Deep in the human soul, men, women, and children all have the same love for cute things. It just depends on whether you can capture the moment when they are so cute to you.
An excellent painter can preserve this short moment on paper forever.
These lines are much cuter than the uneducated raccoon cat in Old Man Wu’s house!
The old man had this thought in his mind.
"I just thought it was inconvenient before. If you really want to keep a pet, it's not like you absolutely can't keep one." Mr. Gu hesitated and touched his chin.
Gu Weijing put down his brush.
He glanced at his grandfather strangely, not believing that these were what his grandfather said.
Gu Tongxiang is a typical Eastern parent.
He would give any good things to his grandson, but he still had to treat his most valued grandson with dignity.
What is not allowed is what is not allowed.
Gu Weijing knew that Gu Tongxiang didn't like cats and dogs, so he suddenly changed his tune.
How could a simple drawing of mine be so powerful?
"Forget it, I'm going to college soon, and I don't have time to take care of pets."
Gu Weijing shook his head and asked directly: "Grandpa, do you have something to tell me?"
"For scriptures. There is something, but you don't need to consider my opinion. You need to come up with this idea..."
Gu Tongxiang blushed slightly when he saw Gu Weijing's strange expression.
He scratched his head in embarrassment and said hesitantly: "That... that..."
"Grandpa, you'd better just tell me."
It was rare for grandpa to show such an expression in front of him, which made Gu Weijing even more confused.
While he placed the copied easel in the corner to dry, put away the watercolor paper, and asked softly: "What happened?"
"Forget it, let's come out and talk in the living room."
Mr. Gu kept mumbling there for a long time without saying anything.
He simply opened the door to the studio and walked to the small living room at home.
Hanks, the agent of Ma Shi Gallery, did not leave either. The blond man sat at the table with a mysterious smile on his face, looking at the grandfather and grandson who came over.
"Mr. Mas, please just give your suggestions to Wei Jing."
"Is there something wrong with the contract? Isn't it signed well?" Gu Weijing looked at the agent aside with questioning eyes.
"That's it, Mr. Gu. There is no problem with the contract between us, but I hope to sign another agency contract to represent the calligraphy and painting artworks of Mr. Gu, your grandfather Gu Tongxiang."
Hanks pointed to the nervous Gu Tongxiang to one side with his palm.
"The old man said he wanted to ask for your opinion."
Mr. Mas III received his text message and did not personally call to respond to Hanks' report this time.
But ten minutes later, Hanks received a work email from Ma Shi III’s secretary, asking him to——[Continue to have a good relationship with Gu Weijing. 】
Listen to this.
Hanks most likely judged that the big boss showed no impatience at all because he was disturbing the other party on the grounds that "a young painter who had just signed a contract showed outstanding skills when copying paintings."
On the contrary, even if I see such inconspicuous little news, I am quite satisfied.
The head of any large gallery in the world has a list full of names of famous painters in the art circle.
The names on the list are divided into gradients of different importance based on the gallery owner's assessment of the artist's current and future market conditions.
Usually, the total sales volume must be at least three million US dollars, and artists who are only one or two tiers behind Professor Sakai at most can enjoy the personal attention of Mas III.
There are no more than 150 such people in the entire art world.
There are no more than two hands in the Ma Shi Gallery.
This means that in the mind of the art giant Ma Shi III, although Gu Weijing will not officially join his gallery until a few months later.
His current status is not inferior to those of great painters with sales in the millions.
"This is worth pondering."
As he finished reading the email, Hanks licked his lips, trying to figure out what the big boss's strange attitude might be.
Of course Gu Weijing's paintings are good enough.
However,
Whether collectors are willing to pay for a work depends not only on whether the painting is valuable, but also on the story behind the canvas.
Whether the story behind the canvas is interesting or not is even more important than whether the painting is good or not.
The Impressionist work Gu Weijing picked up from a painting and calligraphy auction was so technically excellent that Hanks was completely astonished.
His estimated value is no more than $100,000.
Some imitations of paintings by Picasso's disciples and Qi Baishi's students who were kicked out of the school can also be sold at this price.
Collectors have no chance to own an authentic work of Leonardo da Vinci, and even if they have the chance, they cannot afford the transaction price of hundreds of millions of dollars. They can only buy other things related to "Da Vinci".
And the fine paintings by Leonardo da Vinci's students whose literature is available can easily be sold for hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
So whether there is a story to hype is really important in the art world.
It's not that Hanks doesn't believe that this young man from Yangon can one day sell his works for a very high price, it's just that there are too many variables in the art industry.
Gu Weijing is too young now, and he has never won any awards.
Hanks was extremely puzzled. Why did Mas III have such mysterious confidence in him?
Confused in his heart, Hanks's emotional intelligence is not low at all.
Since the gallery owner believes that this young man can make a lot of money for the gallery in the future, he, a hunter-dealer, must also believe in this.
"Sign Gu Tongxiang." - This is how Hanks reflects his confidence.
Brothers on the battlefield, father and son are soldiers in battle.
The art society is a network society, and the closest human relationships are except for masters, apprentices and husbands and wives.
The bloodline of father and son is also an important artistic bond.
You can say that he took a shortcut to artistic success by borrowing his father's name, or you can say that a tiger father has no sons.
No matter how the collecting community is willing to interpret it, many of the great figures in the history of calligraphy and painting art were born in a nest.
Pisano and his son, the pioneers of the Renaissance, Bellini and his son from the Venetian School, three generations of German national treasure painter Holbein, of course, there are also Li Sixun and his son in the East, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi...
One hundred and eighty pairs of examples can be cited casually.
Because of their kinship, these painters have a high degree of similarity in their artistic concepts.
One person attains enlightenment,
Chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
As long as one world-class artist emerges, the value of this string of artists can be raised like a string of grasshoppers.
Hanks was so shocked when he learned that Miss Sakai and Gu Weijing were a couple. Just because if they really achieve success.
With one son-in-law and half a son, Professor Kazunari Sakai and Gu Weijing can also be classified as such a "father-son combination" by the collecting industry.
The only shortcoming is that the painting styles of Gu Weijing and Uncle Sakai are not the same, so they get much less light.
During this time, Hanks discovered that Gu Tongxiang and Gu Weijing’s brushwork and painting styles were very similar, and they both combined Eastern and Western art.
He is just like a "Xiao Gu Weijing".
This sounds a bit strange.
But who made Hanks think that Gu Tongxiang's writing skills are slightly inferior to the current Gu Weijing.
Those who have mastered the artistic path come first.
The son is more valuable than the father, and the father is more valuable than the son.
The reason why Holbein Sr.'s works are so popular at auction is purely because he has a son, Holbein Jr., one of the German version of the "Three Masters of the Renaissance".
Just because they are grandfather and grandson, their painting style and brushing habits are very similar to this.
If one day Gu Weijing can really become a million-dollar artist.
I dare not say too much, so I will give you a discount.
The grandson's painting sells for one million US dollars, and the grandpa's painting sells for one hundred thousand US dollars. No matter what, collectors are willing to buy and speculate on it.
In this case, it would be a pity to still sell paintings in small places in Myanmar.
Hanks had previously come up with the idea of signing this old guy, and after receiving an email from the secretary of Mas III, he firmly believed in this idea.
Gu Weijing was an amateur in art, so when he signed the contract, what he got was actually a contract with a second-tier international artist.
Considered the reward terms of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, this is close to the top line.
With such a big contract, Hanks doesn't get much of a commission.
He can make the decision on signing Gu Tongxiang himself, and the commission rate he gets from it will be much higher.
Hanks told Gu Tongxiang his thoughts.
He thought that if he had the opportunity to become the artist representing Ma Shi III, this old guy would be so happy that he could not wait to jump three feet high.
who knows,
Gu Tongxiang was indeed very excited and his face turned red. But he actually resisted and did not agree immediately. Instead, he wanted to seek his grandson's opinion.
"You actually want to sign my grandfather, I don't think there's anything wrong with it."
Gu Weijing was happy for his grandfather.
The stage of Ma Shi Gallery is more than a hundred times larger than that of a small gallery like theirs.
This is completely the difference between playing football in the community league and working hard at Real Madrid.
Even those "national treasure" artists in the Myanmar National Art Association may not have had the opportunity to sign with Ma Shi Gallery.
The old man has always had a knot in his heart, feeling that he has never had a chance to show himself in his life, and has lived in obscurity in a small place his whole life.
I am approaching old age, but suddenly my dream comes true.
Is there anything more comforting than this?
"Grandpa, are you dissatisfied with the details of the contract?" Gu Weijing turned his head and looked at the old man at home.
"Oh, what else is appropriate and inappropriate at my age? Mr. Hanks Marsh gave me two options for me to choose. An annual creative allowance of US$10,000 + a guaranteed monthly purchase of a painting of US$3,500. . Or the subsidy remains unchanged, and it is divided into 28% in the form of a consignment agent, 20% for me, and 80% for the gallery. These two conditions are already very good for an old thing like me who has most of my body buried in the loess."
The agency contract is in the form of three + five.
The contract is signed for three years first, and then depending on the situation, the gallery has the right to choose whether to continue to implement the remaining five-year terms.
This type of contract is not uncommon in the gallery industry.
In Hanks' heart, Gu Weijing was like the sun at eight or nine o'clock in the morning. If Gu Weijing was so stupid that he didn't care, Hanks would have wanted to sign him for thirty or fifty years.
At Gu Tongxiang's age.
On the contrary, the gallery was unwilling to sign the contract for too long.
There is great uncertainty about the future of older painters.
Optimistically, I estimate that I will be able to paint for another half a century and have a career as long as that of a century artist like Mr. Cao. It’s possible that I won’t be able to paint in two years. The gallery doesn’t engage in charity, and I don’t want to support myself with just the stipend.
Sign for three years first and see how things go.
Considering Gu Weijing's relationship, Hanks directly gave Gu Tongxiang a Type III contract that was extremely generous to ordinary newcomers.
Gu Tongxiang has nothing to be dissatisfied with.
Signing with an intercontinental gallery is like completing an obsession on his bucket list in Mr. Gu's mind.
He is willing to work for nothing without earning a penny.
only……
"The one you want to sign is not me, Gu Tongxiang, but the one you want to sign is Grandpa Weijing." Gu Tongxiang looked at Gu Weijing, and then looked at Hanks on the side.
"What's the difference?"
Hanks shrugged: "Can the relationship between you and Mr. Gu be broken up?"
Gu Tongxiang shook his head gently.
"Different."
Gu Tongxiang knew that his painting skills could not be called inferior, and he did not have the kind of extraordinary ability. It was good in Myanmar, but in Eastern Xia or Europe, it would become completely transparent.
He is just as good as an ordinary city gallery.
In the eyes of real big galleries, it doesn’t count.
It's embarrassing for a gallery like Gagosian to represent him. Even though Mas Gallery has given up on the super gallery style in recent years, it has cast a wide net to fish for fish, and signed a lot of small fourth- and fifth-tier painters.
But Gu Tongxiang is not even considered a sixth-tier player internationally.
It requires connections but no connections, and requires techniques, which are the techniques of ordinary professional painters.
From a piece of tasteless, discarded chicken ribs to a fragrant chicken drumstick.
It’s not just his grandson’s face that he’s selling!
Gu Tongxiang didn't have the ability to give his grandson better family conditions. He thought that his grandson was about to take off, so he couldn't realize his dream and hold his grandson back at this time.
"If you sign me, you will definitely ask me to continue painting works with a fusion style of Western, French and heavy colors, right?" Mr. Gu asked.
"Of course, I think this is the dominant style of your grandfather and grandson. Doesn't Mr. Gu also paint works of these styles in your calligraphy and painting shop?"
Hanks spread his hands.
Traditional Chinese paintings are generally accepted by the old audience of Mashi Gallery. Let Gu Tongxiang paint oil paintings?
It's even more of a joke.
With a snap of his fingers, Hanks could find an artist in Europe who was better at painting than Gu Tongxiang and jumped in line to sign with Max.
Why would he bother to find an old East Asian man to paint oil paintings?
"It's not our grandson's dominant style, it's Gu Weijing's dominant style." Gu Tongxiang carefully corrected the errors in Hanks' words.
"This painting method completely belongs to Gu Weijing. I have been practicing a few paintings in my calligraphy and painting shop these days. Most of them are just to complete the knot of my mind that I failed to imitate Castiglione. When Wei Jing goes to college, I I will never touch this kind of painting again.”
(End of chapter)
